Bloodywood | |
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Background information | |
Origin | New Delhi, India |
Genres | |
Years active | 2016–present |
Members |
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Website | bloodywood |
Bloodywood is an Indian heavy metal band from New Delhi, formed in 2016. They began as a parody band that uploaded metal covers of pop songs on YouTube and later wrote their own music. They have cited Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Alter Bridge, and Limp Bizkit as musical influences. [5]
Prior to forming the band, Karan Katiyar regularly uploaded parody metal covers of popular Bollywood songs on YouTube, but he had trouble finding a suitable vocalist. At a local gig, Katiyar met Jayant Bhadula, who worked as a talent manager at an entertainment company, and was impressed by his vocal range and versatility. [6]
In 2016, Katiyar quit his job as a corporate lawyer and together with Bhadula formed a two-piece band [6] with the intention of "destroying pop songs". [7]
In 2017, Bloodywood re-recorded Linkin Park's song "Heavy" in Linkin Park's early nu metal style, catching the attention of many music websites such as Loudwire and Metal Hammer , the latter of which declared it "what Linkin Park's Heavy should have sounded like." [8] [9] The band made more covers in 2017 and released the compilation cover album Anti-Pop Vol. 1 on their Bandcamp page. [10] This was followed by a metal cover version of the popular Bhangra/Indi-pop song "Tunak Tunak Tun" by Daler Mehndi, featuring guest vocals from Bonde do Metaleiro. [11] [12]
In 2018, Bloodywood released "Ari Ari", a cover of the Bhangra song "Ari Ari" by the duo Bombay Rockers, which itself was a version of the Indian folk song "Baari Barsi". [13] The track featured rapper Raoul Kerr, whom Katiyar had invited to take part after working on a lyric video for him. [6] The song's initial exposure was provided by Bollywood actress Ileana D'Cruz, who shared the video of "Ari Ari" on her social media. [13] The positive reception from fans encouraged the band to write original material and draw more inspiration from Indian folk music. [14]
In July of the same year, Bloodywood partnered with online counselling site HopeTherapy and released the song "Jee Veerey", dedicated to fighting depression and mental illness. [14] [15] On 15 January 2019, the band released "Endurant", a song dealing with the topic of bullying. [4]
On 21 April 2019, it was announced that Bloodywood would perform at Wacken Open Air. [16] Two days later, the band released the song "Machi Bhasad (Expect a Riot)", initially intended for the upcoming Ubisoft game Beyond Good and Evil 2 , as well as announcing that Kerr is becoming a permanent member of the band and that Bloodywood is embarking on their "Raj Against the Machine Tour". [17]
In 2021, Bloodywood was named one of the "12 new metal bands to watch in 2022" by the heavy metal and rock music magazine Metal Hammer . [18] They were also nominated for the Breakthrough Asian Band title at the 2021 Global Metal Apocalypse awards, finishing second. [19]
Bloodywood's debut studio album is titled Rakshak and was released on 18 February 2022. [18] Lyrically, it tackles social and political topics, such as the fifth track, "Dana-Dan", which discusses rape and sexual assault. [20] [21]
Along with the messages included in their songs, the band aims to support various social/charity causes. With the release of the video for their song "Jee Veerey", they gave away pre-paid online counselling sessions.
Upon returning to India from their 2019 European tour, Bloodywood donated the earnings to Posh Foundation, a local NGO that cares for homeless animals, for the purchase of a new ambulance. [22]
Touring members
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